Happy Beale out to continue winning ways against Wales

Cardiff: Kurtley Beale has every reason to love playing Wales. He made his debut here in 2009, off the bench, in a comfortable 33-12 Australian victory. A wide-eyed, 20-year-old Beale played alongside Adam Ashley-Cooper, Will Genia, David Pocock and Tatafu Polata-Nau – the only survivors of that team still within the Australian setup now.

Happy chap: Kurtley Beale has not lost to Wales since debuting against them in 2009. Credit:Rugby Australia Media

Beale has won seven from seven matches against Wales. All up, Australia have won 13 on the trot against the men in red who, despite being in most of these contests, keep coming up with new ways to lose.

Case in point: 2012. With Australia trailing 12-9 with less than a minute to go and in their own half, Beale crossed the white paint seconds later for a memorable five-pointer to break Welsh hearts once again on home soil.

He is a player Wales will be wary of and the 81-Test playmaker is just as hungry when he first burst onto the international scene to inflict more pain on Australia’s first opponents of their end-of-year European tour.

Advertisement

“It's always a great occasion and the atmosphere is one of the best in the world and as a player that is what you want to strive for and test yourself against,” Beale said. “That first cap is always special and you always remember those times but it is the opposition you are up against.

Loading

“The Welsh always have an exciting brand of rugby to play and I guess it's someone I enjoy playing against. There is a lot of scope there and as an outside back or a playmaker to try and pick them off.”

Above all, even if the Wallabies do boast a brilliant record over Wales across the past decade, this is a side that refuses to get complacent. Realistically, they have few reasons to be.

“You show the Welsh respect,” Beale said. “They're a dangerous team and on their day they can beat anyone. As a group we understand that every time we play them. It's always a tough, physical game.”

Wales actually did Australia a favour on Saturday by beating Scotland 21-10 in Cardiff. The victory pushed the Scots down to seventh on the world rankings, meaning Australia reclaimed sixth spot.

It is, however, nothing to get excited by. Wales still occupy third spot in the rankings and have been in decent form, registering wins over Italy, France, South Africa, Argentina (x2) and Scotland during a six-game streak stretching back to March.

Australia come into the match in very different circumstances, having lost just nine of their last 12 matches – the most recent being a 37-20 defeat to the All Blacks.

“We want to be consistent … and have clarity around our roles,” Beale said. “We are always striving for a complete performance. We need to turn up with the mindset of getting better.

“[We want to] keep building on the good things we are doing and keep striving for that consistency leading to the World Cup.”